I Lost It!
by little.artist
Summary: Sakura couldn't bear to look at her friend any longer. He guessed correctly. She…had lost…the hearty pen.


**I Lost It!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

One-shot

Naruto rubbed his eyes sleepily, groaning at the early morning light that reminded him of the time. He was still in his pajamas for God sake!

"Naruto!" The blonde tried not to wince at her panicking tone. "It's gone! It's gone—I can't find it _anywhere_!"

The blonde stared at his panting team-mate. Sakura had her hands on her knees, still fighting for air due to her amazingly speedy sprint to the blonde's apartment. The pinkette hadn't brushed her hair and she still had her kitty slippers on. Oblivious to this, the girl pushed past Naruto, heading straight for the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. She needed caffeine.

Struggling not to slump down on the couch right there and then, Naruto forced his heavy legs onwards, in the direction of the green-eyed teen. Stifling a yawn, the blonde finally spoke.

"Sakura…what are you doing here at 3am in the morning?"

Desperate green eyes found tired blue ones. They widened in surprise when the kunoichi turned red. She put down the empty cup of coffee and settled down onto a cushioned seat. Naruto followed, curious.

"I-I…I lost it. N-naruto…I lost the pen!"

Silence. Then—

"…and why are you here at 3.00am in the morning—way before training might I add…?"

Sakura groaned, dread clawing at her features. She shook her head, clenching her fists so tightly Naruto swore he saw all the blood draining away from her knuckles. Suddenly, the pinkette slammed her fist onto the poor table. It creaked under her monstrous strength.

Naruto frowned. _What did the table ever do to her…? No…wait…what pen?_

Sakura watched as realization dawned on the blonde's face. His mouth widened until it was in an 'o' shape and his tired eyes lit up in an almost-amusing way if not for the dire situation.

"Sakura…" Said teen looked across at him with sad eyes. "…you—you don't m-mean—?"

Sakura couldn't bear to look at her friend any longer. He guessed correctly. She…had lost…the hearty pen.

* * *

Ino listened to her friend's plea carefully. At that moment, she had 3 facts down:

1)Sakura was panicking…_really_ panicking.

2)She owned a pen…then lost it.

3)She and Naruto called it…the '_hearty pen_'.

"Wait, wait, wait…so why _exactly_ do you love this pen so much? What's so good about it?"

Ino was shocked to see her friend blush brightly before paling again. She opened and closed her mouth several times, each one looking hesitant. She was saved, however, by the other loud blonde.

Waving his arms around wildly, Naruto replied hastily, "N-now's not the time to think about things like that Ino! We have to find that pen!"

Crossing her arms, Ino stayed firmly put. She put on a serious expression, expecting to be answered. Again, she was shocked by Sakura's reaction.

"…fine."

Both blondes' felt their jaws drop. Sakura…walking _away_ from Ino? The Ino? This couldn't be happening. Before Naruto could shut his mouth, Ino had rushed after Sakura, determined to find the cause of her irrational behaviour.

Naruto watched as the two females ran off, Ino screaming after the green-eyed teen and Sakura avoiding eye contact at all costs.

It was at this time; Naruto felt one of his brilliant ideas kicking in.

* * *

Sasuke was enjoying his precious afternoon training when a loud and obnoxious voice interrupted his silent thoughts. Rolling his dark eyes, the Uchiha whirled around, spinning three shurikens in the intruder's direction. Naruto dodged them easily—but complained anyway.

"Oi, Teme!" the blonde whined. "What was that for?"

Ignoring his shouts, Sasuke continued attacking the already beaten-up dummy. His vision was blocked however, by the bright orange that surrounded him. The Narutos all grinned, placing their hands in the air in triumph.

"Now that I have your attention, Teme…" they all echoed. "Have you seen Sakura's pen? Ya know? The hearty one?"

A poof of smoke left Naruto standing in the training grounds alone. Civilians could hear the furious shouts of the blondes blasting over their daily chores. Some muttered under their breath about stuck-up shinobis whilst shinobis complained bout stuck-up soon-to-be-Hokages.

Sasuke reappeared in his house, a permanent glare glued to his face. He happened to enjoy doing something without the blonde around, so the rude interruption was definitely one thing he did not want to happen.

Stalking over to his bedroom, the Uchiha closed the door behind him with a soft snap. Walking over to his bed, the Uchiha closed his eyes before letting the pull of gravity push him onto his soft mattress. Sleep would've taken over if it weren't for the annoying piece of furniture that was in full view. Growling, the dark-haired man pushed off his bed and snatched up the disturbing object that sat on top of the table.

The young man stared angrily at the pen. It had a little red heart at the very top, connected to a spring that bounced around every time it was moved. Small flowers dotted the body of the red pen and at the very tip, sat a small yellow cap with the letters '_SH'_ engraved into it.

Sasuke didn't know why the pinkette loved this pen so much. It was a _pen_. Why couldn't she show more affection for a puppy, or a teddy? Huh? Why couldn't she…_why couldn't she show more affection for_ _him?_

Loud voices made their way to the Uchiha's sharp ears and Sasuke could feel three separate charkas coming his way. He quickly stuffed the pen into his pocket and walked over to the window. Looking out, he saw Ino, Shikamaru and Sakura, walking towards the mansion.

* * *

Shikamaru yawned at the blonde's panicked voice. He was too tired to care about a _pen_. He had just come back from a mission, expecting a nice bath and of course, sleep. But to his annoyance, Ino had taken advantage of his tired state, by leading him to Sakura.

So now, all three ninjas (one very tired) walked in the direction of the Uchiha mansion, intent on finding a piece of stationary. Well, Sakura was at least. Ino was just tagging along to find out the reason behind her best friend's strange attitude. Oh, and of course he was just being dragged along by his loud, former team-mate.

Seeing the Uchiha manor in the distance, Shikamaru could practically feel the pinkette's anticipation seeping through her skin.

_What was so important about this pen?_

* * *

Sasuke walked to the front door, determined to stop the threesome before they could reach his house to annoy him. Swinging open the door, he found a very pink Sakura standing in front of him, hand in the air ready to knock, Ino and Shikamaru stood in the background, one with fire burning in her eyes, whilst the other had circles around his orbs.

"Hn. What?"

He watched as the green-eyed teen looked up at him slowly, heat obvious on her cheeks. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Since when did she start blushing around him again? Didn't she already make it clear that she wasn't interested the day he came back?

_Flashback_

"_Sakura!" Yelled an excited Naruto. "Guess who I brought back with me!"_

_The Uchiha stared back at her stoically. She surprised him by not backing down from his black eyes. She lifted up a hand, eyes burning—from happiness or sadness he didn't know. But then—_

_SLAM!_

_The Uchiha felt his jaw unhinge when the girl hit him so hard he flew back about four metres. Glancing up from his shocked state, Sakura smiled down at him._

"_Welcome back."_

_With that, the girl left him on the floor, smiling cheekily._

_End Of Flashback_

The young woman standing in front of him fiddled with the gloves that covered her hands. Anger rose up inside the Uchiha's boiling chest. _What was it?_

"Er…hi. Um—I was t-thinking, do…do-possibly-maybe-have-picked-up-my-pen?"

The girl had to slow down her breathing, her chest rising up and down rapidly with the lack of air. The two teens standing behind her had no eyebrows as they had disappeared into their hair.

Sakura watched as the stoic man stayed expressionless. Then—

"Which one?"

She choked. _Which one?_

"T-the…" she struggled with her answer. "What d-do you mean?"

A smirk. Green eyes widened.

"Do you mean…a green one? Blue? _Red?"_

"I-I…"

A raised eyebrow.

"…does it have anything on it? Like…a _heart_?"

Sakura turned almost purple. But instead of embarrassment, anger boiled up inside her chest. What was he playing at? The anger seemed to have brought out her inner as the pinkette almost shouted:

"Y-yes the red one with the heart! Exactly that one! Now tell me if you have it—it's mine…and you don't have the right to take it from me! Give it back!"

The Uchiha watched, amused as the girl burst at him. Slowly, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out said object. Boy, was he going to have fun.

Sakura's eyes widened at the now-exposed object. Leaping up, she tried—and failed—to retrieve the pen. Sasuke's smirk widened at her short height and held the pen up high, just high enough for her to miss it. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his mouth at her short temper.

Ino and Shikamaru looked on, curious at his tactics.

Sakura, however, was not curious at all. She was absolutely fuming. How dare he do this? How dare he humiliate her?

"Hn…is this it?"

Green eyes stayed glued to the stationary, not giving him a chance to see her angry eyes.

"Well…?"

The reply came from gritted teeth. Strong arms kept the pen up high.

"Yes."

"Do you want it back?"

"…yes."

The jumping stopped and Sakura lowered her head, the anger seeping away. Sasuke didn't see her upset eyes though, and continued his taunting.

"Why?"

"…"

"Hn…annoying." Black eyes took in her still form. "It's just a stupid pen."

Small fists tightened.

"Hey! Sakura spent the whole day looking for it you—"

Ino's rants were interrupted by Shikamaru's hand covering her mouth. He dragged her away, leaving the pair alone.

The man lowered his arm and held out his hand. Sakura saw her chance and made another grab for it. The pale hand retreated quickly, a smirk still evident on his features. Then—

"Give it back!"

Sasuke quickly dodged the punch that came his way. Throwing the pen up, he caught it swiftly with his other hand.

"…It's _just_ a pen. You wasted a whole day looking for _this_? Hn—"

Sakura finally snapped.

"Give it back you JERK! I don't care what you think of it okay? It's MY pen! I want it back—it's, it's special to me!"

Dark eyes narrowed.

"Why? Did someone give it to you…?"

Sakura ignored his question.

"GIVE BACK MY HEARTY PEN!"

Dark eyes narrowed even more until they were mere slits.

"Tch…_hearty pen_? Pathetic…"

Sasuke, caught off guard, fell to the ground when Sakura finally leapt at him. He dropped the pen and she lunged for it, finally curling her fingers around its smooth surface.

Shaking his head when the pinkette got up and dusted herself off, he grumbled, "_Annoying_."

Black eyes met green and he was startled to see tears in her eyes. Pulling himself up, the Uchiha faced her, not sure what to do. _Why was she crying?_

"…t-that's all you c-can say, huh?" Black eyes widened. "…pathetic…_annoying_…"

Sasuke was at a loss for words. Had he gone too far?

"…Sakura…who gave you that pen?"

Green eyes flashed in anger. Black eyes watched warily as the pen nearly cracked due to the pressure of her fingers.

"No one!"

"I don't believe you."

"No one gave—"

"—Then why do you love it so much?—"

"BECAUSE IT WAS FOR YOU!"

Silent tears made their way down her face. Sasuke felt as if a sledgehammer had smashed its way through his chest. _For him? But…_

"…this pen was for you…" Sakura continued. "I tried to give it to you…b-but you said the exact same thing you always do."

"_Sasuke-kun? L-look what I got for you!" _

_Sakura held out the small box containing her gift._

"_I-I know it's n-n-not much…but I hope you like it…"_

"_Hn…annoying."_

Sasuke felt the worst feeling ever tumble through his body. It was gut-wrenching…absolutely horrible…it was remorse. Then, as if one cue, guilt leapt in. What jerk would do that to Sakura? The stoic type, that's what.

Sakura felt dark eyes on her and smacked herself for letting her tears fall. What was she—seven? She couldn't believe how stupid she was for letting her emotions get the better of her. And all because of this stupid reminder. The stupid, _stupid_ reminder that currently sat in the palm of her fist.

The hearty pen…one, physical proof that Sasuke didn't love her. That he didn't care. That he didn't give her a chance.

Suddenly, she realised where she was. What she was doing. Spinning around, the pinkette ran off the porch.

Sasuke, startled at her actions, sprinted after her. Grabbing her arm, he turned her around. The pinkette swiped her arm away, determined no to let him touch her. Sasuke's eyes hardened at her reaction.

"I'm…"

"Save it. I don't care anymore."

Again, she made a move to walk away, but the Uchiha stepped in front of her. He leaned forward, feeling Sakura's breath flutter over his cheeks. She was nervous. It was then, Sasuke decided to do it.

"TEME AND SAKURA, SITTING IN THE TREE-"

Both heads whipped to the side, watching as Ino pulled a beaten up Naruto into the bushes. Sasuke heard Sakura sigh.

"…no…we're not sitting in a tree…"

She turned back to him, the determined look back in her eyes.

"Sasuke—"

The smirk returned to the young man's features.

* * *

Ino watched as the bloody Naruto slumped down onto the dry, grassy area behind the bush. After making sure he was out for good, she turned back to the scene she was watching before the idiot had interrupted. Blue eyes turned to plates when she saw the Uchiha make his move.

She watched as Sakura wound her arms around his neck, taking in the kiss without a second thought. Sasuke didn't close his eyes as she had. Instead, his eyes were fanning over her face, his searching gaze oblivious to the blissful girl. Slowly, he also closed his eyes, finally accepting her (or was it his?) feelings.

Ino smiled happily as her friend finally looked at peace. She turned away from the happy couple, glancing at her pineapple-headed boyfriend who was sleeping calmly next to the knocked-out Naruto. Giggling, she gave him a soft kiss to the lips before dragging both males out of the bushes in the direction of Ichiraku. Naruto would give her another migraine if he complained about his grumbling stomach.

* * *

The kissing couple didn't notice the retreating chakra. They finally broke apart, Sakura with a sweet smile on her face and a slightly pink Sasuke.

He took her hand in his larger one, removing the pen from her grasp. Slowly, he tucked the object into his pocket.

"Hn…I accept your gift."

Sakura giggled at his flushed face and wrapped her arm around his as they walked into his house. There was still one thing he hadn't noticed yet.

If Sasuke had taken a closer look at the pen, he would have seen, on the other side of the small cap, two more engraved letters spelling: '_SU_'.

Now if the Uchiha had seen this in the first place, would all this have happened?


End file.
